tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46533665409061170152018-03-06T03:45:46.279-08:00St Monica's BridgeA Place For Catholic MothersKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.comBlogger423125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-63924606275487857682010-05-14T00:34:00.001-07:002010-05-14T00:35:17.603-07:00A Slow ProgressionI am going to slowly move this blog over to wordpress. I really love blogger, but I kind of love wordpress more....St Monica's Bridge hereI will for the time being, post both places and am working to export this blog there.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-38557686693519015202010-05-12T23:17:00.000-07:002010-05-12T23:25:44.514-07:00Small, but Mighty!1) I managed not to be the one who melted down on the baby's birthday. I left that to our two-year-old.2) I haven't had to ask God once for strength in cheering my husband on as he continues on the job search. I know not every week will be like this one, but I want to celebrate that I have been able to joyfully do this!3) I got all the Mother's Day cards out on time! This includes the one that Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-67034770622512989152010-05-12T21:51:00.000-07:002010-05-12T23:14:59.624-07:00"Playing" MommyRemember when this used to mean you and siblings or other kids were playing "house" and someone was designated as "the mommy." Well, now that we're big girls and the house is a real structure and the title mommy we earned however we did, this can take on a whole new meaning. Sometimes, not entirely nice.I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when I was talking to a friend. She was describing a Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-72159823213824941252010-05-12T01:10:00.000-07:002010-05-12T01:21:04.579-07:00I Link Because I CanHave you ever noticed links on blogs? Did you ever wonder how someone was added to a list of links?Well, I can't answer for everyone, but for me, the links I have are carefully chosen blogs that I read, that I like and that I feel are relevant to what I have posted here. Only one is not by a mother, not because I don't read blogs by men or women who don't have children, but because I do not find Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-46763338560439930812010-05-11T13:09:00.000-07:002010-05-12T01:09:41.206-07:00Tiny TreasuresWilliam-- Mr Will is one-year-old now. Today is his 12-month check-up and Daddy is with him at the doctor's office right now. He took five full steps today independently with no prompting. Much earlier than his brother and sister! He is still teething and it is about to be the death of Mommy too!Joseph-- Joey is working on manners a lot these days. Mostly please, thank you and your welcome. And Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-59876990862242489752010-05-09T12:03:00.000-07:002010-05-09T12:05:59.949-07:00Today Andrew James Kosmala1995-2008We remember our mothers and in our family we also remember him...Forever Andy.Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-53230367403120770992010-05-07T03:48:00.001-07:002010-05-07T04:04:33.903-07:00Quick Takes1) In our house, we are lucky when it comes to stomach viruses (odd statment I know). We rarely get them, and when we do we are good at not sharing them. Jeff and I both were infected this week. And, mercifully, God spared the kids!2) Skin-So-Soft. I love this stuff. Avon is so worth it for this alone. Our poor Shelby, in addition to everything else, is a mosquito magnet (she got it from me). Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-20244021885819180352010-05-06T00:58:00.000-07:002010-05-06T01:13:10.220-07:00So, do you "look the part?"Okay, because I lumber around with 3 kids in tow, in the south, people assume I am Catholic. It hardly matters what I am wearing. I have more than one, so I must be one of "them." Fair enough.One of my favorite Catholic bloggers is Simcha Fisher. Her old blog I Need to Sit Down was something I looked forward too. Now Simcha blogs for Inside Catholic.com and a while back shared this gem. (BTW IC Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-49653515770156953192010-05-06T00:28:00.000-07:002010-05-06T00:42:03.144-07:00Thankful Thursday1) That one year later, Will is still with us despite a huge scare when he was seven months old. 2) That small blessings are coming more and more these days with kind words and prayers said. 3) That when I ask on facebook for good news, I have plenty of friends that are willing to oblige. 4) For old friends I have reconnected with recently. 5) Rain6) That Sherri was okay after this: happened Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-1500053858556823972010-05-06T00:20:00.000-07:002010-05-06T00:28:57.199-07:00Small Successes1) I have managed to faithfully keep to my 3 am (while I am at work) saying of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and my life seems ever better since!2) I haven't cried once about the baby's first birthday (this Friday). I hope I can keep it up!3) I made new friends, yes, anti-social, shy me made friends after mass this past Sunday. I guess I'm not to wierd after all!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-23834174145770374022010-05-04T01:32:00.001-07:002010-05-04T01:38:05.415-07:00Tiny Treasures Tuesday1) William-- Will is going to be....one year old....on Friday. I can hardly believe this year is up. Looking back at how different our lives were one year ago when we welcomed our tiny miracle boy...I can't imagine he wasn't already with us! Will is desparately trying to walk and stands unassisted for several minutes at a time now. He is "daddy's boy" clinging to his father. He is also teething. Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-84722450075783723742010-05-04T00:20:00.000-07:002010-05-04T01:14:55.068-07:00But What Happens when it's not cool ENOUGH?Again, looking to Faith and Family Live for inspiration and it comes from Rebecca Teti's piece Big Love vs EWTN. Which dissects Barbara Nicolosi's interview about Christianity and the arts, particularly EWTN.Here is what EWTN does well:1) It focuses on prayer.2) It introduces people to foregone Catholic figures such as Mother Angelica and Archbishop Fulton Sheen.3) There is excellent live Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-47407673872690552932010-05-03T00:48:00.000-07:002010-05-03T01:45:21.834-07:00When is Christ "too cool"Back in Lent, Arwen Mosher over at Faith and Family Live asked this question: The Passion on Good Friday: Would You Watch? In which she described how her father watches the movie The Passion of the Christ each Good Friday but she cannot bring herself to do the same.I read the comments with some interest because I never have, nor do I plan to, see the movie. I know, I'm waiting to burst into Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-2298224863498424722010-05-02T13:16:00.000-07:002010-05-02T13:26:15.646-07:00Fellowship....make it a Catholic Thing!This Sunday I was able to attend the early mass because I worked Saturday night. It was a First Communion mass and good friends of ours were in attendance not only because it was their normal mass time, but because the husband is a photographer and offers his services to photograph the children receiving. His wife sat with me and another good family friend and her son sat right in front of Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-52842807565069058302010-04-30T00:42:00.000-07:002010-04-30T00:52:27.052-07:00Quick Takes Friday1) I got all my kids to eat spaghetti last night. Well, the baby's noodles had no sauce, but I'm still counting it! 2) I get a 3 day weekend next weekend...but I have to work this Saturday night. I am praying it goes quickly and painlessly! 3) I am at a loss how in one week I will have a one-year-old. Completely at a loss 4) Overheard this week: Me: Joey did you poop?Joey: No poop mamaMe: Joey Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-84124991546371166942010-04-28T23:19:00.000-07:002010-04-28T23:26:02.089-07:00Small Successes1) When head-on provoked by someone I have had a tendency to have a short-temper with, I simply smiled and thanked them for their opinion.2) I managed to make it in and out of my parents' house with everything I came with. I left Will's birthday present there, but I didn't come in with that so it doesn't count :).3) When a little person asked me on Tuesday to "get shoes, socks. Get Mama's keys, Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-21000356115049591292010-04-27T05:31:00.000-07:002010-04-27T05:40:01.256-07:00Tiny TreasuresWilliam- In less than two weeks he will be a whole year old! He is a really cruising a lot now and wants to walk really bad. He loves Cars as much as Joey now and Blue's Clues too.Joseph-- Joey is ever the helpful brother. He is enjoying being a little enforcer and helping make sure Shelby is not getting into trouble. He pushes Will in the swing.Shelby-- Shelby was crying last week...because she Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-63424687932592508952010-04-26T23:12:00.000-07:002010-04-26T23:30:08.331-07:00The Fight Goes On.... One team walked for a thirteen-year-old boy, another for a former Marine who passed just six months after his fourth grandchild was born. Team AK Strong and Team Doin' It 4 Dale still can use your support as can the other angels fighting brain tumors at Duke's Preston Robert Tisch Brain Cancer Center. Please help us end this thing! For him: and him: and those of us who walked for them!Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-13149022968506794832010-04-25T05:19:00.000-07:002010-04-25T05:27:10.709-07:00I Believe Yesterday my parents walked for Andy. My friends Holly and Christy, along with their families, walked for their father Dale. Brain tumors claim young and old but at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Cancer Center at Duke University, where both Andy and Dale received treatment, there is hope. Hope that a cure will be found. We had planned to walk but multiple scheduling conflicts combined with a Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-56803246092981024152010-04-23T02:18:00.001-07:002010-04-23T02:42:29.387-07:00Is She For Real?OMG, it was a magical experience. You'll never know what it was like, but it was the greatest thing ever. It's just too bad you can't feel the empowerment I feel now....I'll spare you the rest. Recently I met up with a couple of friends, one of whom just had her first baby. At home. With her midwife. I was totally revved up to hear her birth story. I was totally let down. Instead of hearing how Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-17059877917758334422010-04-22T22:56:00.000-07:002010-04-22T23:29:54.672-07:00Seven Quick Takes1) I am nervous for Jeff taking his Praxis II in Family and Consumer Science this Saturday. It will make him more marketable for sure. No, he doesn't sew or do interior design (although those will be on the exam) he can teach agriculture and the food portions well. I really, really hope he passes!!!! For me it is more stressful than when he was taking the exam for elementary education Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-27760981008370165092010-04-22T05:13:00.000-07:002010-04-22T05:26:06.487-07:00Thankful Thursday1) For Tuesdays, SVU marathon2) This sweet face3) And this one4) And this one 5) For a husband who never gives up6) A rainy day to sleep yesterday7) That so many people are motivated to walk for brain cancer research8) A beautiful and fruitful vegetable garden9) Friends who are as obsessed with baby names as I am :)10) Really comfy pajama pantsKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-32487641485350128812010-04-22T01:57:00.000-07:002010-04-22T02:01:52.142-07:00Small Successes1) I stopped drinking sugar soft-drinks and limit myself to one Diet Coke at work. This is to curb budget as much as waist line!2) I have started teaching Joey to use an open cup instead of a cup with a straw. We have spillage issues, but he's been really good about trying it out.3) I managed to hold down the fort and not count how many time I heard "where Daddy go?" last Saturday when Jeff went Kristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-43501833399838316602010-04-20T01:31:00.000-07:002010-04-20T01:42:30.021-07:00Tiny Treasures TuesdayWilliam-- In 3 weeks, he will be 1. How this year has passed so quickly. He is a little machine and into everyone else's business. Let me try and change a diaper that is not his and he's in my face. He is big into smiling still and molars are coming in now. Oh the agony! But he is handling quite a bit of food, all of it real. We are working hard on a sippy cup. Hoping he gets it quick.Joseph-- SoKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4653366540906117015.post-40405177404299947772010-04-15T23:53:00.001-07:002010-04-16T01:11:37.676-07:00Quick Takes FridaySo, here we are again....1) I did our taxes. I know, I know what you're thinking, doesn't everyone do them the day you get your W2's? My answer is what fun would tax day be if I didn't do them then. I'll let you ponder that...2) I am ever more drawn back to the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy as I struggle to help many close to me through this crisis in the Church.3) IKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11603870354395202703noreply@blogger.com1